Polypin Management

[PEZ]

haavent done yet and still a bit of room in it.. still very cloudy though and my missus thinks its off cos it stinks, its bound to stink though innit?
does sugar help it clear or hinder? i wonderin if i didnt put enough in

[GabrielKnight]

I now use polypins extensively - I don't know of any alternative that lets you enjoy (CAMRA regulation) real ale for longer if drinking between just 1 - 2 people. Its perfect because the bag collapses as the drink goes down.

I spent a long time researching how long the beer is supposed to stay fresh for and the answers were anything between a week and 2 months. I can tell you that if the air is actively pushed out of the polypin and not reintroduuced while serving, my beer tastes as good as day one up to a year later.

I now have 21 x 20L polypins on the go and can choose between a dozen drinks, beer / wine all through the year. I use the polypin as a secondary and let off any Co2 with the tap if necessary. The polypin is thicker than a sealed plastic bottle that will keep coke in date for over a year.

[arturobandini]

Where do you get your polypins GabrielKnight?

[GabrielKnight]

The only homebrew shop I know sells them is:

http://www.the-home-brew-shop.co.uk/aca ... ttles.html

But at £12 they're rather pricey (don't forget they're reusable though)

Best bet is to phone around brewery's that sell their beers in polypins and ask if they will sell you empty ones.

[arturobandini]

Ah,

Paul at Barleybottom (www.barleybottom.com) does 20l polypin for £9.99! I had a polypin of ESB for family consumption over Christmas and I kept the polypin somewhere in case I could reuse it. My initial idea was to pitch the yeast into a Fullers ESB clone but most people were none to trusting of the hygenic kegging conditions down there at Fullers...

Anyone re-used a brewery or otherwise commercially bought poly?

[Dennis King]

Yes I`ve reused several brewery polypins. Just bought 2 new ones from my local hb shop [beers unlimited - westcliff] about £8 each.

[Andy]

Yup, I've got quite a few brewery ones I reuse. If a new one costs £10 ish then might as well buy one full of beer and make use of the contents

[arturobandini]

If a new one costs £10 ish then might as well buy one full of beer and make use of the contents

Whole hearted agreement from me there Andy! The Fullers ones always go down well especially the ESB.

[PEZ]

just to let you know i fkucked it. its all been poured away. stinkin rotten. think it mustve been the semi sterile hairy stirring arm.
goin for bottles this time round as have no polypin left!-put it outside unforturnately it burst on some gravel. bottles much sturdier surely ha
wish me luck on this coopers european tip eh?!

[techtone]

What would work best in a 20l polypin, a 40, 36 or 24 pint kit or does it not matter? I have one I used to get filled by a local brewery for parties. It might come in handy in addition to my 3 kegs From a practical pov it would make sense to do one of the smaller/stronger kits in the pin and keep the kegs for the 40's.

[Dennis King]

just to let you know i fkucked it. its all been poured away. stinkin rotten. think it mustve been the semi sterile hairy stirring arm.
goin for bottles this time round as have no polypin left!-put it outside unforturnately it burst on some gravel. bottles much sturdier surely ha
wish me luck on this coopers european tip eh?!

Bad luck pez you put a lot of work into it as well

[Dennis King]

What would work best in a 20l polypin, a 40, 36 or 24 pint kit or does it not matter? I have one I used to get filled by a local brewery for parties. It might come in handy in addition to my 3 kegs From a practical pov it would make sense to do one of the smaller/stronger kits in the pin and keep the kegs for the 40's.

36 is about right

[BIGstu]

www.mikrocellar.com

10L polypin £4.77 inc VAT
20L polypin £5.69 incl VAT

Del £3.50 + VAT

Taps, boxes etc also available on the site

[Invalid Stout]

Has anyone used bag-in-box as opposed to polypins? Quite different, apparently. These guys sell them: http://www.baginboxonline.co.uk/beer.html . Cheaper than polypins but looks like you have to buy at least 10.

Are they reusable like polypins or is the bag not thick enough to survive reuse?

[Dennis King]

Looks interesting but dont look reusable to me